Verna’s Gift Shop stands out against the July fog, with its bright blue exterior. Inside, the twelve foot by twelve foot space is lined with toys, art and souvenirs. Its owner, Verna Heath, said she’d worked at different shops in the area, including Chinook Gifts in King Salmon
“And that's what gave me the idea, is I wanted to buy that store, but Covid hit. So I didn't do it. Because the price was still high and we weren't selling like we usually do,” she said. “So I didn't buy it, but I kept working for them. And I decided there's nothing in Naknek and people go up there and buy all these gifts. And so I decided I would go ahead and do my own gift shop.”
Heath got to work buying inventory for her store, as items went on sale, and found consignments. She also secured a federal grant, $120,000, to help start her shop.
But the money has been slow to come in. She had merchandise - including some of her own beading work - ready to go and wanted to get started. She decided to turn her old beach cabin into a working store for the time being. She and her grandson did most of the renovations.
“We mud and taped and painted it. And then we tried to make it look nice,” she said.
But then they had some unwelcome visitors, sniffing out the remains of leftover food.
“The bears broke in. The next night, they broke in again, but I had a chair. It was blocking, so they couldn't get in,” she said.
Now Heath has a sturdy metal door to help protect from bears. She said it was donated by LMI.
Heath said delays transporting the cabin to her commercial property caused her to miss much of the fishing season’s traffic in Naknek. But she’s hopeful going forward. She’s in a good location, she said, near Silver Bay Seafoods and a boatyard.
“The people we sell to are mostly cannery workers and fishermen that only come in for a short period, but they buy a whole bunch of stuff. And then during the wintertime the locals will come in,” she said. “ I've already been selling to locals because they stopped by and want to see the build… And then somebody says, ‘oh how cute! You got a cute little store.’”
Once her grant money comes in, she has a spot selected on her property for a bigger, permanent building. In the meantime, she plans to stay open through the winter.
“And I said 'little, yes.' I said, ‘it needs work yet, but it's getting there little by little,” Heath said.
Verna’s Gift Shop is located off Alaska Peninsula Highway near Herrmann property.
Get in touch with the author at christina@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200.
